


Nightmare

by JKlog



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s04e08 The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKlog/pseuds/JKlog
Summary: Blair has a nightmare.
Relationships: Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg
Kudos: 7
Collections: SenThurs.Cynic





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Bluewolf for the fantastic beta reading, and to Becky's site for the transcripts.

_“You really think I’m such a cynic, Jim?”_

_“Yes! I think you’d betray me for three million dollars!”_

_“I can’t believe it. After all we’ve been through…”_

_“Chief, you got a great opportunity here. It's a once-in-a-lifetime play. Go for the brass ring. Good luck, huh?”_

Blair watched Jim’s back as he walked off. In his nightmare, Jim went into a black cloud and Blair thought he would never see him again.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

In reality, Jim had gone to Jack Bartley’s office, and barely paid any attention to Blair. That was it, until Blair announced that there was going to be a story about Jim and him on the noon news. Jim left after hearing that.

Against what Blair had thought, Jim didn’t leave him without transportation. He waited for him in the truck, until Blair left the building. There was a terrible silence between them, and the tension could be cut with a knife.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Blair got up with his decision made. He slept only for a short while, and then he had that atrocious nightmare. His mother didn’t understand him. Jim didn’t understand him. Nobody _did_ understand him, but he was going to do what was right. Go for the brass ring, as Jim had advised him. If he was lucky enough, the sentinel would see how much he loved him.

When he got out of the bathroom, Jim had already left. His mother left him a note saying she was out visiting a friend. That was good. He had to make some phone calls and he didn’t want to be heard.

After he made the phone calls, he tried to read the latest “Anthropology Today”, to make time till noon. But he couldn’t. In his mind, the nightmare replayed and replayed. What would Jim think when he saw him on TV? Probably he’d think he was going to accept Sid Graham’s offer and publish his thesis.

Finally, it was time to leave. He closed the door, went down the stairs, and got in his Volvo. Feeling miserable, but with his mind set. He drove to Rainier, parked in his usual spot. Probably he would never park there again. He got off the Volvo and walked to the conference hall. As he expected, there were already a lot of reporters and cameras. The Chancellor was there. She smiled at him and encouraged him to go to the podium.

He was there. Right there. He couldn’t believe he was going to do it, but he _was_ going to do it.

“Hi. Thank you all for coming. I just have a short speech prepared here. Um... In our media-informed culture, a scientist receives validation by having his or her work published and after years of research there is great personal satisfaction when that goal is reached. However, my desire to impress both my peers and the world at large drove me to an immoral and unethical act. My thesis "The Sentinel" is a fraud. While my paper does quote ancient source material, the documentation proving that James Ellison...actually possesses hyper-senses is fraudulent. Looking back, I can say that it's a good piece of fiction. I apologize for this deception. My only hope is that I can be forgiven for the pain I've caused those that are close to me. Thank you.”

He didn’t look at any of the faces that were close to him, but he clearly heard what the Chancellor told him as he was walking off.

“You've embarrassed this university for the last time. I want your office cleared out by Friday.”

He didn’t want to cry. He wouldn’t cry. But, oh my, was he sad!

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

After that came all the Zeller debacle, with said assassin falling from the roof and dying crashed on a car. And there were some good moments, as when Jim told him he was “the best cop I've ever met and the best partner I could have ever asked for”, in his words. Unfortunately, he couldn’t prevent that Jim got shot in a leg by Zeller. Before that, Simon and Megan had been shot. That was awful.

The offer of the detective badge had also been a good moment. He wasn’t sure about accepting the offer, but he was going to think about it.

There was a better moment, though, that never came. Jim hadn’t noticed Blair’s love for him. Blair thought that he probably never would.


End file.
